Florida guard Antoinette Bannister was arrested Saturday and charged with credit card theft and fraud in conjunction with using a teammate's credit card in November, as first reported by The Gainesville Sun.
Bannister allegedly took the credit card of Florida teammate Viktorija Dimaite on November 11, then subsequently used it in the Oaks Mall, at a sporting goods store, and a pawn shop in the following days. Surveillance video from the sporting goods store revealed Bannister using it to make a purchase.
My reading of the applicable Florida statutes is that both charges are likely to be first-degree misdemeanors, each punishable by up to a year in jail and/or a fine of $1,000.
Bannister has also been dismissed from Florida's program, as first reported by The Independent Florida Alligator's Graham Hall.
Bannister transferred to Florida from North Carolina in January 2013, and was expected to provide a significant boost to the Gators' backcourt, as a top-100 recruit coming out of high school and a prolific scorer and shooter.
But that projection never quite came true: Bannister ended up shuffled to the back of a deep backcourt rotation, and struggled to see the court in a non-reserve role. She averaged 6.2 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in 2014-15, but had only played in one of Florida's last six contests.
Bannister's dismissal makes two departures in as many years for crime-related reasons for Amanda Butler's program. Sophomore forward Christin Mercer was charged with conspiracy to commit robbery in 2014, and eventually transferred to Jacksonville.